Caretakers
Wanted for BC’s Important Bird Areas
9 March 2007 – As part of a joint
initiative between BC Nature (Federation of BC Naturalists) and Bird
Studies Canada to re-invigorate the Important Bird Area program in BC,
we are looking for volunteers – in the form of individuals, groups or
clubs – to act as Caretakers for each of BC’s 84 IBAs. This is part of
the first step in a process that aims to build on the IBA
identification, designation and conservation planning work done over the
past decade. At the same time, we will be conducting outreach work to
promote the IBA program among relevant stakeholders, from naturalist
groups to conservation and land management agencies. The eventual aim is
to set up a system for IBA-based monitoring of bird populations and
their habitats to inform the management of these sites. The Caretaker
Network is based on an approach to IBA site conservation and monitoring
pioneered in Denmark, and will be the first IBA Caretaker Network to be
set up in Canada.
We invite volunteer birders and
naturalists in communities around BC to act as the “eyes on the ground,”
committing to at least one annual, seasonally appropriate site visit per
year, with a report back to provide current information on IBA site
status, threats, bird populations, and any other relevant conservation
issues. These data will be used to update the
Canadian IBA database. Visit
the website and take a look at the list of BC’s 84 IBAs to see which
ones are near you, or view them using the online mapping tool. Caretaker
roles are currently vacant for many of BC’s interior IBAs (e.g. Osoyoos
Oxbows, Chopaka Customs, Chilcotin Junction), and more remote coastal
sites that may only be visited by boat during the summer months (e.g.
Solander Island and Brooks Bay). If you are interested in volunteering
as an IBA Caretaker, please get in touch with either Pete Davidson at
pdavidson@bsc-eoc.org or Anne
Murray (BC Nature) at
sanderling@uniserve.ca.
Alberta Bird
Atlas Available at Pre-Sale Price
9 March 2007 – The Federation of
Alberta Naturalists is pleased to announce that after five years of
field research by over 1200 volunteers, the publication The Atlas of
Breeding Birds of Alberta: A Second Look will soon be available. The
regular price for this 700-page, full colour, hard cover book will be
$64.95, but for a limited time it is available for only $49.95. Order
before March 31 to take advantage of this special offer. Call
780-427-8124 or order online.
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View the Birds of Presqu’ile Provincial Park, Ontario, on eBird Canada
2 March 2007 – When a birding
colleague died in the late 1990s, Clive Goodwin was struck by the loss
of an important set of bird sightings records. Clive began to accumulate
records from Northumberland County, Ontario, so that similar datasets
would be available for future birders and biologists. With the help of
his wife Joy and programmer Steve Furino, Clive has amassed over 260,000
bird records in a project now sponsored by the Willow Beach Field
Naturalists.
Clive is gradually uploading the
database into eBird Canada. The latest upload consisted of 75,552
records from Presqu’ile Provincial Park, most of them sightings by Joan
and John Thomson. Presqu’ile is a birding mecca, particularly in the
spring and fall, and this database provides a wonderful way for eBirders
to explore its riches online. Simply go to
www.ebird.ca, click “View and
Explore Data,” click on “All Birds at a Location,” select HotSpots in
Ontario, then select Presqu’ile Provincial Park. You’ll see a bar graph
checklist that includes 274 species – based on 1720 checklists
painstakingly entered by Joy and Clive. Read more about their project on
The
Birds of Northumberland County website.
Maritimes Atlas Opportunities
9 March 2007 – One year down, four
to go! The second Maritimes Atlas season is upon us and there are still
some staff vacancies and many volunteer opportunities.
The Maritimes Breeding Bird Atlas (MBBA)
is a scientifically-designed, five-year project to determine the
distribution, abundance and status of all bird species that breed in the
Maritimes. Fieldwork began in 2006 and will continue through 2010.
Already, 550 volunteers have spent 6,400 hours gathering data and 29,000
individual records have been submitted!
An Atlas Assistant Coordinator is
needed! The position, initially staffed for 6 months, will be based at
the Sackville office in New Brunswick. View the
job description online here.
Deadline for applications is April 2, 2007.
Two volunteer Regional Coordinators are
needed for New Brunswick’s Kent County and Charlotte Regions. Regional
Coordinators are the backbone of the Atlas – they serve as the main
contact, motivator and source of information for atlassers in their
region, as well as ensuring that their region is adequately covered. If
you are interested and would like more information please contact the
Atlas Coordinator at atlasmaritimes@gmail.com.
Bird Studies Canada will be hiring 4-6
summer staff to lead volunteer training workshops and to atlas and
conduct point counts in unpopulated areas. More details coming soon....
Most importantly, we need hundreds of
volunteers to survey the Maritimes for breeding birds this summer. If
you like birdwatching, we need your help! Please visit
our website or call
1-866-5atlas5.
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